By tracing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) 100 years, this special issue brings to light the organisation's contradictions, setbacks, and changes in direction, together with its long-term evolution. Taking a step back from the current focus on the historical juncture of the twentieth CCP Congress, and on Xi Jinping himself, our long-term approach contextualises recent developments. Looking at the CCP's evolution over time shows how the founding structures and objectives of the CCP have had a long-lasting impact on its future developments as well as how they have been tweaked and rearranged to adapt to the new economic and social environment the party contributed to creating. Our long-term historical approach stresses impermanence beyond the apparent permanence of the party's concepts (e.g. "loyalty" and "democratic centralism"), discursive tactics (e.g. the mobilisation of emotions) and on-the-ground practices (e.g. grassroots party building), while also bringing to light the mere recycling of past practices and strategies.